Daniel Ricciardo returned four years after his departure from Red Bull Racing. In Melbourne, at a press conference for team leaders, Christian Horner said that during the Australian driver’s time at Renault and McLaren, his driving style had changed.
Christian Horner: “When a racer drives a car with certain disadvantages, he has to adapt to get the most out of it. And when Daniel returned to us after Abu Dhabi, it became clear that over the years he had acquired habits that were previously uncharacteristic for him. We didn’t recognize him as Daniel, who left the team a few years ago.
However, during the Christmas holidays, he had time to “reboot”. In 2023 he returned to work on the simulator – he likes our virtual machine and we see that it correlates well with the real one. I think Daniel would love to drive a real one, and for our part we see him becoming the Daniel we knew.
I’d say it’ll be ready to ride in about ten minutes. He’s in good shape, but after the McLaren we had to feed him a bit! I don’t know what they did to him there, but Daniel came to us thinner, but now he’s got a healthy look. He trains hard and will be ready to ride if given the chance.
I’m glad he’s back on the team. The podium in Melbourne is the first one Daniel came to this year and he is fully committed to the work. He is present at all the briefings, he works a lot on the simulator in the UK, helps us during the races and in the development of the car.
Daniel radiates positive energy, his charm returns – he literally lights up the room with his smile when he enters the room. Although he does not compete, he is still one of the most popular Formula 1 drivers, and probably the most popular in Melbourne. It’s great to have him on our team because everyone benefits – racers, engineers.
I hope Daniel returns to the love of the sport. This year he will do tests for us and then we will see how it turns out with him. He’s getting a different experience now – it’s probably hard for him not to drive a car this weekend, but he’s accepted the new role.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
